A zoomable map of Australia, Australia map showing Roads, States and Territories, Cities and Villages.

Australia is the world's sixth-largest country covering an area of 2,941,299 sq miles. The biggest cities of Australia are Perth (Western Australia), Canberra (Capital Territory), Melbourne, Sydney (New South Wales), Cairns, Brisbane, Townsville (Queensland), Alice Springs, Darwin (Northern Territory), Adelaide (South Australia), and Hobart (Tasmania). Australia is dotted with lakes - Lake Austin, Lake Bairee, Lake MacLeod, Lake Carnegie, Lake Gregory, Rason Lake, Lake Eyre, Lake Gairdner, Lake Blanche, and Lake Fame are some of the best known lakes of the western and South regions. The west-central regions are largely deserted and some of the best-known points of interest in the country are the Sydney Opera House, Kangaroo Island, Mungo National Park, Kakadu, and Hobart.

Australia takes up the entirety of the world's smallest continent or the world's largest island, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on its eastern coast and the Indian Ocean on its west. Australia is a vast country, ranking sixth on the list of largest countries in the world. The majority of Australia is the arid desert known as the outback, but other climates in Australia are found around the coast, including tropical rainforests, grasslands, and temperate coastlines.

Each capital city forms its own Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA), which according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) represents a broad socioeconomic definition of each of the eight state and territory capital cities.[1] These correspond to the more common and international usage of metropolitan areas. Significant Urban Areas are similarly defined but include cities which are not capital cities. In Australia the population of the GCCSA/SUA is the most-often quoted figure for that city's population. The following ranks GCSSAs and SUAs which are not included within the GCCSAs with populations of over 30,000.

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are in bold, the remainder are Significant Urban Areas.

Rank

GCCSA/SUA

State/Territory

June 2012[2]

1

Sydney

New South Wales

4,667,283

2

Melbourne

Victoria

4,246,345

3

Brisbane

Queensland

2,189,878

4

Perth

Western Australia

1,897,548

5

Adelaide

South Australia

1,277,174

6

Gold Coast-Tweed

Queensland/New South Wales

590,889

7

Newcastle-Maitland

New South Wales

418,958

8

Canberra-Queanbeyan

Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales

411,609

*

Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territorya

374,658

9

Sunshine Coast

Queensland

285,169

10

Wollongong

New South Wales

282,099

11

Hobart

Tasmania

216,959

12

Geelong

Victoria

179,042

13

Townsville

Queensland

171,971

14

Cairns

Queensland

142,528

15

Darwin

Northern Territory

131,678

16

Toowoomba

Queensland

110,472

17

Ballarat

Victoria

95,021

18

Bendigo

Victoria

88,668

19

Launceston

Tasmania

86,109

20

Albury-Wodonga

New South Wales/Victoria

84,982

21

Mackay

Queensland

81,594

22

Rockhampton

Queensland

77,704

23

Bundaberg

Queensland

69,805

24

Bunbury

Western Australia

67,090

25

Coffs Harbour

New South Wales

66,610

26

Wagga Wagga

New South Wales

53,832

27

Hervey Bay

Queensland

50,431

28

Mildura-Wentworth

Victoria/New South Wales

48,783

29

Shepparton-Mooropna

Victoria

48,114

30

Gladstone-Tannum Sands

Queensland

44,355

31

Port Macquarie

New South Wales

43,587

32

Tamworth

New South Wales

40,832

33

Traralgon-Morwell

Victoria

40,602

34

Orange

New South Wales

38,516

35

Geraldton

Western Australia

38,030

36

Bowral-Mittagong

New South Wales

36,402

37

Dubbo

New South Wales

35,898

38

Nowra-Bomaderry

New South Wales

34,798

39

Bathurst

New South Wales

34,124

40

Warrnambool

Victoria

33,204

41

Kalgoorlie-Boulder

Western Australia

32,787

42

Busselton

Western Australia

32,471

43

Albany

Western Australia

31,978

44

Warragul-Drouin

Victoria

31,280

45

Devonport

Tasmania

30,330

Former National highways

New South Wales introduced a new alphanumeric route numbering system in 2013, which no longer includes national highways.